Some 30 people gathered at the Dunnville library on Wednesday, September 25 to hear young explorer Adam Shoalts talk about his hero, Sir Isaac Brock, and the War of 1812.

The program was presented in recognition of the bicentennial of the War of 1812, and who better to talk about that than modern-day explorer, prolific author and historian Adam Shoalts?

Shoalts was a very engaging speaker and talked of the early days of Brock’s life in Britain, who came from a wealthy family there.

Shoalts admires Brock for his extensive library containing books of Greek and Latin and of course war strategies; Shoalts himself is an avid reader.

Brock was posted in the Caribbean before coming to Canada where he wrote continually to be sent back to Britain so that he could engage in battle.

On the eve of the Battle of Queenston Heights, he finally received word that he could come back to Britain, and he refused because he knew he was needed here.

Shoalts shared many interesting information about Brock like the fact that his body has been moved around a lot and that his uniform, still with the bullet hole in it, is in a museum somewhere, and that it has never been tested for DNA.

Brock was only in his 40s when he died with a 20-year military career under his belt.

Shoalts himself was an engaging and passionate narrator, who incorporated amusing stories into his accounts of Brock’s life and times.

The Dunnville District Heritage Association (DDHA) hopes to have Adam Shoalts back again to talk of his own exploits as an explorer, author and historian in a “history in the making” capacity next year.

The DDHA is looking for issues of the Dunnville Chronicle from mid-2008 to its final issue in 2012 and would appreciate delivery of them to the Lalor Room within the Dunnville library.

The DDHA has had many visitors to the Lalor Room over the last several months and have been able to provide them with significant information to add to their family histories and have also received information in return.

Residents are encouraged to consider contributing any Dunnville area family history and photographs to the archives, as the DDHA continues to digitize its database.

The DDHA will be hosting another informative night on October 23 at 7 p.m. in the Dunnville Public Library to present Georgann and Mike Wachter, who will be talking about local lighthouses.

The two are divers and researchers and have discovered many wrecks and lighthouses that they have written about. They are sure to be very interesting speakers.